Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Immortals

MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for sequences of strong bloody violence, and a scene of sexuality.

Reviewed by: Pamela Karpelenia
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults Teens
Genre: Action Adventure Fantasy Drama 3D
Length: 1 hr. 50 min.
Year of Release: 2011
USA Release: November 11, 2011 (wide—3,000+ theaters)
DVD: March 6, 2012
Copyright, Relativity Mediaclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Relativity Media Copyright, Relativity Media Copyright, Relativity Media Copyright, Relativity Media Copyright, Relativity Media Copyright, Relativity Media Copyright, Relativity Media Copyright, Relativity Media Copyright, Relativity Media
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Relativity Media

Greece

Grecians

immortality

god

pagan fantasy gods and idolatry

Greek mythology and polytheistic religion in ancient greece

oracle

bow and arrows

murder

sword

javelin

shield

armor

courage / bravery

FILM VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer

Featuring Luke EvansZeus
Henry CavillTheseus
Freida PintoPhaedra
Kellan LutzPoseidon
Mickey RourkeKing Hyperion
Isabel LucasAthena
John HurtOld Zeus
Joseph Morgan … Lysander
Stephen DorffStavros
See all »
Director Tarsem Singh
Producer Relativity Media
Atmosphere Entertainment MM
Hollywood Gang Productions
See all »
Distributor Relativity Media

“The gods need a hero.”

“All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.”

The movie “Immortals” begins with this quote from Socrates and then opens with an eye-catching and attention grabbing vision of caged Titans that look more like caged, tortured monsters, and a man (who we later learn is the villain King Hyperion played by Mickey Rourke) with a magic bow releases the Titans from their imprisonment. This vision wakes the oracle Phaedra (Frieda Pinto), and, with worry and fear, she relays what she saw to her protectors. On to a village scene, where we find our hero Theseus (Henry Cavill), a Greek god skeptic speaking with an “old man” about his disbelief.

As we learn from the vision, the villain King Hyperion is on a quest to find the magic bow and release the Titans. King Hyperion hates gods because he believed the gods let his people die. So he wants to release the Titans, because he knows only Titans can kill the gods. In his journey to find the bow, King Hyperion kills our hero’s mother. Theseus, in an attempt to avenge his mother, is taken prisoner and meets the oracle, who then has a vision of Theseus and helps him and others escape. They then embark on an adventure of revenge and fate.

The visual artistry is brilliantly stunning from the start and keeps eyes glued. The story, however, is head-scratchingly befuddled. Even though I was visually hooked, I wasn’t really sure if I got what the plot was. The acting is impressive, but I felt they were hampered by bad writing and direction. Rourke and Cavill are appropriately cast, and I genuinely feared and disliked the villain and sympathized and cheered for the hero.

Objectionable content

The violence is beyond extreme, from the most gruesome of slayings, to men being mutilated by King Hyperion

FILM VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer

There is an overtly graphic sex scene between Theseus and the oracle; nudity is shown. There are also several shirtless men.

When reading or viewing Greek mythology about gods it is only natural to try to draw comparisons to the God of the Bible. This a foolish task, because there is no comparison. The Greek gods are shown to be like fallen man, because they were created by fallen men. The Greek gods conflicted, apathetic and deistic in their very existence and look like they need salvation themselves, not to mention, these gods can be killed. The One True God of the Bible is Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and revealed the only way of salvation of mankind through the God-man Jesus Christ. Socrates was right, but the Bible gives us the biblical context. Our bodies are dust, but our soul will live forever, and we have the free will to choose where our souls will spend eternity (eternal life or eternal death).

“My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” —Psalms 84:2.

As for my recommendation, it’s a no go for me. The film’s plot (or lack thereof) is too inconsistent to warrant the cost of admission. While the eye candy scenes were enjoyable, it is quickly clouded by the gratuitous violence—not to mention the end left the audience with a collective “What does this mean?” at the end.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—It’s not a bad movie, I enjoyed it. I liked how even though Theseus did not believe in the gods growing up, little did he know that Zeus (disguised as an old man) was always there mentoring him. We can all relate to this situation. Many of us grew up as non believers, yet if we look deeply, God was and is always there. I also liked how Hyperion tempted Theseus by promising a kingdom and immortality. Theseus wisely replied, “deeds are eternal, the flesh isn’t”.

I also liked how Zeus has high expectations for Theseus and commands him to lead his people instead of doing everything for him (Mortal, no god will help you/ I believe in you prove me right speech).

In the end the movie is marred with excessive violence and a poor script but I liked it for what it is, an entertaining film. One more thing, I’m noticing a common trend in modern movies, where there is a father or god/son underlying theme. “Sixty-six” (great 2006 film, highly recommended), “Superman Returns” and now “Immortals” comes to mind. Is there something going on in our society that is causing us to reexamine our own father/son roles?
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
FJ, age 34 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—A lot of the violence in this movie is not there for the sake of it; it’s a “good vs. Evil” type of violence. One scene that horrified me was the scene where Lysander gets castrated. You don’t see the moment of impact, but you hear his scream, and it’s beyond painful. The virgin oracle believes the only way she can be free of her painful bonds with visions is by losing her virginity with the hero, which she does. I am thankful we live in an era where Christ can break anyone free from a false religion and/or occultic abilities. I don’t remember much language, drugs, or alcohol, but the entire movie was confusing to the point I barely understood what was going on.

The reason why I rate this offensive is due to the presence of Greek gods. They talk about faith in humanity a bit, and they see their faith as null and useless when the titans are freed. The Greek gods are clearly shown dying when the titans injure them. This is not compatible with God’s Word in any way. However, I do not believe Hollywood and the producers of this movie meant to blaspheme the One, True, God of the Bible. I think it was meant to be entertainment. The only good thing about this movie was Zeus being a father-figure to the main character.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Peter, age 22 (USA)
Neutral—After reading the reviewer’s negative comments I decided to post a review that perhaps will help those of you who are interested in this movie make a mature decision regarding viewing or not viewing this movie. To begin with, should a Christian be seeing a “R” rated movie that lists “sexuality, nudity, extreme violence, and profanity,” in it? So, there is the “line” in the sand, and each of us who are Christians and who love movies have to either accept this line and cross it, or stay away from this line.

Now, let me ask you begin… did you see “Braveheart” with Mel Gibson?… Did you see “Saving Private Ryan” with Tom Hanks?… Did you see “Taken” 1&2, with Liam Neeson… If so, then you are familiar with the level of violence in this movie… It’s graphic, it’s intense, and it’s menacing… Overall, it has the feel of a violent video game, yet it’s on a big screen or as large as your TV will allow. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Larry, age 52 (USA)
Negative
Negative—The fighting scenes are ubiquitous. They are extreme. The only saving grace is that they are often repetitive (possibly to save expense) and so become less real. There are many worse sex scenes, but this one is more salacious, in my view, than the normal mechanical scenes one has grown to detest. However, objectively viewed, there is little in it. The real problem is that the girl is meant to be moral, and the man is the hero, and one imagines that they would have gotten married [***SPOILER ALERT***], but for his death. It made me more uncomfortable than normal, probably because the girl is meant to be a good girl.

There are scenes of worshiping false gods, which is uncomfortable for a Christian. I do not believe that those who produced this film are interested in anything more than money, but it is an unsettling film. It is not one for children. The sex could be cut out, but the violence could not be. It IS the movie. It even shows a traitor having his testicles smashed with a large mallet. He does have his pants on.

Christians will get nothing from this movie. …
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
BP, age 53 (Australia)
Movie Critics
“…Greek god of gore… a buffet for the retinas and a fast for the mind… If it’s violence ye seek, and violently confused storytelling, look ye no further. … [2/4]”
Kyle Smith, New York Post
“…without doubt the best-looking awful movie you will ever see… a lot of the time I had no idea what was going on. Characters would turn up for the first time, seem terrifically important, and disappear. … [1½/4]”
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“…Visually stunning, but heavy-handed and lacking a single moment that evinces any relish for movie-making. … Thuddingly ponderous…”
Todd McCarthy, Variety
“…Silly, boring… The last time something this big and bloated moved this slowly was during one of the ice ages. …”
Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee
“…an epic win… Ambitious, visually striking and virtually nonstop in its carnage, “Immortals” rates as a most extravagant sword and sandal spectacle. …”
Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald
“…visually impressive 3-D work, but the Greek mythology-inspired story around him makes no sense. … at some point, you will wonder—will this never end?…”
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
“…not for the squeamish… Singh choreographs a virtual decathlon of death… If you’ve ever wondered what an exploding brain looks like in 3D, this is your chance to find out. … [1½]”
Chris Knight, National Post
“…entertaining… a cheerfully idiotic mythological yarn ballasted by Tarsem’s eyecatching image-making… keeps every frame watchable, however foolish and stilted the utterances emerging from people’s mouths. … [3/5]”
Andrew Pulver, The Guardian (UK)